This allows them to access the victim’s accounts at various services, which includes cryptocurrency wallets.

The lawsuit claims that Terpin’s account has been hacked twice in seven months, saying “most troubling, AT&T has not improved its protections even though it knows from numerous incidents that some of its employees actively cooperate with hackers in SIM swap frauds by giving hackers direct access to customer information and by overriding AT&T’s security procedures.”

Terpin is seeking $23.8 million in compensatory damages and a further $200 million in punitive damages, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims that security issues are nothing new to AT&T, which has been already accused of failing to protect its clients.

“In recent incidents, law enforcement has even confirmed that AT&T employees profited from working directly with cyber terrorists and thieves in SIM swap frauds,” the plaintiff contended.

In a statement, Terpin said that “mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency cannot take place as long as phone company employees are handing over critical unauthorized access to the heart of everyone’s digital lives.”

He declined to elaborate on the company’s objections to the allegations.

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